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Japan Trip [April 2013] Part 3 - Casual

Part 3 of my Japan trip! These are just casual pictures I took. Please excuse some of the blurry or out of focus pictures. I'm still trying to figure out how to use my new camera. lol

Chanko nabe: "Chankonabe is a Japanese stew commonly eaten in vast quantity by sumo wrestlers as part of a weight-gain diet. It contains a dashi or chicken broth soup base with sake or mirin to add flavor." - By internet.
In essence it's a big hot pot with a bunch of different ingredients in it.
After we arrived, we went straight to a meeting. This is our late night dinner.

My drink while we had dinner with Masamoto's president.
Mikan sake (satsuma sake). I don't really drink, but this was delicious. I wanted more. lol

Appetizer : Blueberry with sweet tofu

Mini fish tempura. Sorry I can't remember the name of the fish.

Homemade satsuma age (fried fish spam, I think.)

Kara age (Japanese fried chicken)

Assortment of veggies with tomato paste.

Seafood rice in a donabe hot pot. I love when the bottom rice burns and its a little crunchy. So good!

Main course : Steak

Ekiben on our way to Kansai!
Soy and mirin marinated ground chicken and eggs.

First stop was Kyoto. We visited Kitcho Restaurant (one of the top cha-kaiseki restaurants established in 1930) to meet with Chef Tokunaga. Unfortunately, we did not get to eat there... But we were served sakuramochi (cherry blossom flavored mochi with red bean inside and wrapped in a cherry blossom leaf.) I've had it before and admittedly I wasn't too excited about it until I ate it... It was so incredibly good and the real thing was so much better than what I found in NY.

Rui and I were given some free time to wander about Kyoto after a meeting. We went to Arashiyama and fed peanuts to monkeys.

Just chillin.

Adorable doughnuts.
So heres the story. I bought two for my mom and me at a cute stall somewhere in Kyoto, but she returned to the hotel after I went to bed. When I woke up the doughnuts were gone... She ate both.

Chef Lee Ann Wong heard the story and bought me another one when she happened to pass by the store. I love nice people.